Allow me to introduce myself and Recycling is Fun to you. My name is Sara Fonda and I’m a 91 year old mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. I arrived in Australia at the age of 7 and grew up in suburban Melbourne. My husband and I struggled together through the depression, eventually building a very successful manufacturing business.

For the last 38 years, since my retirement, I have run a non-profit organisation, of which “Recycling is Fun” is the continuation.

This organisation was based on my mother’s philosophy that having an interest in life makes life sweet. She was a living example of this; she was always full of the joy of life.

My work has been recognised through the years by many people and organisations; the most recent being the Australian Ambassador to Israel, our local MP – Clem Newton-Brown and the Brotherhood of St Laurence.

Our aim is to encourage people of all ages and abilities, to improve the quality of their lives and of our Planet, by involving them in interesting,pleasurable hobbies and craft activities. This participation enables people to remain active, both physically and mentally and brings them a sense of purpose, fulfilment, and joy and the opportunity to contribute and be part of their community.

•We believe that craft relieves stress and boredom, bringing purpose to life, improving self esteem and creating a sense of fulfilment and achievement.

•We believe that by teaching people how to recycle household waste into something interesting and useful they can save money and help save our environment!

•We believe that using recycled items means everybody can enjoy the pleasures of craft without worrying about cost.

•We believe that recycling is fun and healthy.

An important aspect of our project is to reach out to home bound people who are often faced with feelings of loneliness, isolation and boredom. By providing them with ideas for interesting,pleasurable craft activities we can eradicate these negative feelings.

Using our ideas, people can create attractive, practical decorations for their home, novel, fun gifts for family and friends as well as items that can be sold or donated to their favourite charity, and all at no expense.

Our projects are so varied that there is something for every skill level. What a wonderful opportunity to build strong bonds of love and respect with children and/or grandchildren, by using their imagination and creativity and your skills and knowledge!

Every activity that we provide utilises what most people would consider household waste. We need to care for the environment, and reusing is one of the best ways to do this. We show you many ways to reuse old milk cartons, plastic bags, bottles, boxes, buttons, clothing, material scraps,newspapers, sheets, socks etc. to create something beautiful, decorative and/orfun. What a great way to build self-esteem and confidence while keeping your mind and body active.

My life has been full and exciting, but I feel I have much more to give because of how healthy and young-in-mind hobbies and craft have kept me. At the age of 91, I continue on because I know I can still change people’s lives, bringing them joy, meaning and stress relief , saving them money and encouraging families to build strong bonds.

Our Website www.recyclingisfun.com.au gives many people access to our ideas. Our gallery has wonderful photos of many of our projects - so detailed that no further instruction is needed.

Come back to my blog so I can tell you about our latest project or hints and tricks on new ways to use discarded household trash or maybe an innovative way to lure the children and/or grandchildren away from their electronic babysitters.

The success of this project will depend on you telling your friends about us, and them telling their friends. So why not “pay it forward” and get involved with healthy, fun craft activities made from recycled materials?